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Reports: UN panel backs Julian Assange 'unlawful detention' claim

A United Nations panel looking at whether WikiLeak's founder Julian Assange was 'unlawfully detained' in the Ecuadorian embassy has reportedly sided with Assange.

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The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention -- a panel of legal experts that has taken evidence from the UK and Sweden -- will formally announce its findings on whether Assange has been unlawfully detained on Friday, but the BBC has said it believes the panel will back Assange's opinion. Assange made the complaint to the panel in 2014.

The panel it does not have any formal influence over the authorities in Britain or Sweden, meaning it is likely Assange will still be arrested if he leaves the embassy.

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Assange: UN detention opinion is 'really significant victory'

ByMatt Burgess

Assange, who voluntarily sought asylum in the central London embassy in June 2012, had earlier said he would walk out of the front doors of the embassy and "accept" arrest if the UN panel ruled against him.

He initially took refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault claims -- two of the claims have been dropped, but he still faces the more serious accusation of rape. Assange has denied the claims and said he ultimately fears extradition to the United States in relation to leaked documents, which were published by WikiLeaks.

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In a statement tweeted from the Wikileaks account at 3AM GMT Assange said: "Should the UN announce tomorrow [Friday] that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Swede I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal."

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The statement continued to say if he won his case he would "expect the immediate" return of his passport and "termination" of any attempts to arrest him if he leaves the building. The Metropolitan Police has consistently said Assange would be arrested if he left the building at any point.

However, in a week that saw the annual celebration of Groundhog Day, it isn't the first time the WikiLeaks founder has said he will leave the building. In August 2014 Assange said he would depart the embassy "soon", with a Wikileaks spokesperson saying "his bag is packed".

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He was originally arrested in London in 2010 under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Sweden and was later granted political asylum by Ecuador. Since then Assange has lost a Supreme Court battle over if his extradition could go ahead.

In recent history, behind the scenes meetings have been taking place to organise the questioning of Assange over the outstanding sexual assault allegations. It is believed Swedish prosecutors have agreed for Assange to be questioned by Ecuadorian officials while he is inside the embassy.

Internal documents from the Ecuadorian embassy, seen by BuzzFeed, have previously shown that officials in the embassy are keeping minute-by-minute records of Assange's actions and any possible escape plans, which may have existed. "Assange could leave in fancy dress or try to escape across the rooftops towards a nearby helipad, or get lost among the people in Harrods," the documents said.